After years as a political prisoner, Mohamed Nasheed was elected President of the Republic of the Maldives in 2008 in the first democratic election in that Indian Ocean nation’s history. Trained as a marine scientist, President Nasheed emerged as one of the leading voices of small island nations threatened by sea level rise and climate change. He was forced out of office in February 2012 in what may have been a coup orchestrated by the repressive forces he defeated in 2008.

President Nasheed is coming to New York for the premier of a film about him, THE ISLAND PRESIDENT, which will be showing in theaters across the country. He will give an address and answer questions at Columbia University on Thursday, March 29, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, in Low Library (116th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam). The event is open to the public without charge but advance registration is required. To register, follow the instructions located on our website.

This event is hosted by Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law and is co-sponsored by The Earth Institute of Columbia University; the Environmental and International Environmental Law Committees of the New York City Bar Association; Yale Environmental Law Association; Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy; and Bard MBA in Sustainability.

One comment

I just saw this beautiful film and wish to thank you for hosting President Nasheed. He is truly a forward-thinking leader trying to save his civilization from extinction. It is obvious that since humans are creating a mass extinction in nature, the same will happen to cultures. Maldives is merely the leading edge of the mass cultural demise that will accompany global climate chaos.

As the maps of the world are redrawn due to sea level rise, so will the cultural maps. It will not be pretty.

The film also exposes the huge challenges facing the negotiation process within the UNFCCC. There are too many agendas and no unified sense of purpose. Without MASSIVE back pressure from citizens, the negotiators will never get serious until they feel the wrath of their populations should they come home empty handed. Nasheed understands this only too well as his homeland is reclaimed by the relentlessly rising tides. The US has a real stake in his reinstatement. As Nasheed says, Manhattan is just as low as Male. So is Washington. So is my city of San Francisco. We are all in the same sinking boat.

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This blog provides a forum for legal and policy analysis on a variety of climate-related issues. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the individual authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for Climate Change Law.